CAC Registration Cost in Nigeria (2026): Business Name vs Limited Company, Step by Step

Registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) costs ₦21,000 in government fees for a business name, and from ₦11,750 for a private limited company with the minimum ₦100,000 share capital, as of October 2026. Those are the CAC's own filing fees plus stamp duty, not what an agent will quote you. A business name is cheaper and faster if you're running a shop, a side hustle or freelance work on your own. A limited company costs a little more upfront, but it separates your personal assets from the business and lets you take on contracts that require a registered company. Here's the full breakdown, the steps, and how to check your registration actually went through.

How much does CAC registration cost right now?

These figures come straight from the CAC's own new schedule of fees, gazetted on 29 May 2025 and in force on the Company Registration Portal (CRP) since 2025, checked October 2026. The ₦10,000 incorporation charge applies "for every ₦1,000,000 or part thereof" of your company's issued share capital, so a company with ₦100,000 in share capital and one with ₦900,000 both pay the same ₦10,000, because both fall inside that first ₦1,000,000 band. Go above ₦1,000,000 and the fee steps up again.

Stamp duty is separate from the CAC's own charges. It's levied by the tax authority at 0.75% of your company's authorised share capital, a rate confirmed by PwC's Nigeria tax guide, and you pay it through the same CRP portal as part of the registration flow, according to the CAC's own company registration steps. A business name has no share capital, so there's no stamp duty to pay — one reason it's the cheaper route.

Under Section 27(2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, a private limited company must have at least ₦100,000 in issued share capital; you can't register one with less. A public company needs at least ₦2,000,000. Most small businesses stick to the ₦100,000 minimum, which is why the ₦11,750 figure is the realistic floor for an Ltd, not ₦18,500.

Business name or limited company: which should you register?

A business name suits you if you're trading alone or with a partner and don't need to shield personal assets from business debts — a shop, a salon, a consulting gig, most side hustles. It's registered and run in your own name legally; if the business owes money, creditors can come after you personally.

A private limited company (Ltd) suits you if you want limited liability (your personal assets are protected beyond what you've invested), plan to bring in co-founders or investors, or need "Ltd" after your name to win contracts, open certain corporate bank accounts, or bid for tenders that require a registered company rather than a business name.

If you're starting a POS agency business or anything where you'll be handling customers' money and signing agent agreements with banks or fintechs, check what the provider actually requires — some accept a business name, others insist on a registered Ltd. If you're registering an Ltd specifically to buy or hold land, the Lands Registry will ask for your CAC documents when you lodge the deed — so verify the land title before you pay, whichever structure you use.

How to register a business name with CAC

1. Check your proposed name is available. Search it on the CRP at services.cac.gov.ng. Have two or three backup names ready in case your first choice is taken or too similar to an existing one.
2. Reserve the name. This costs ₦1,000 and the CAC says reservations are normally cleared within 4 working hours. A standard name search and reservation that doesn't use a restricted word costs ₦1,000; names with restricted words (anything implying "Federal", "National", a bank, or similar) cost ₦5,000 and need extra consent.
3. Fill the pre-registration form (CAC-BNo1) on the portal and upload your documents: a valid ID, your passport photograph, and your proposed business address.
4. Pay the ₦20,000 registration fee and submit. You get an electronic certificate of registration and a certified extract once it's processed.

Total: ₦21,000, and the CAC's published turnaround for new business-name registrations is 24 working hours once your paperwork is complete and query-free.

How to register a private limited company with CAC

1. Check and reserve your company name the same way, on services.cac.gov.ng. Company names typically end in "Limited" or "Ltd".
2. Decide your share capital and shareholding. ₦100,000 split between you and any co-founders is the common minimum; put a larger figure if you know you'll need to show more capital to banks or clients later (raising it afterwards costs another registration fee).
3. Complete the registration form and upload documents on the CRP: memorandum and particulars of directors/shareholders, valid ID, passport photographs, and a registered address.
4. Pay the filing fee and stamp duty together through the portal — ₦11,750 all-in for the ₦100,000 minimum, as the CAC's own steps for registering a company describe.
5. Download your Certificate of Incorporation once it's approved. The CAC's published timeline for new company registrations is 24 working hours after your documents are in order (companies limited by guarantee take 48 working hours, since those also need Attorney-General approval).

What CAC registration no longer requires: a separate TIN

Since the Nigeria Tax Administration Act took effect on 1 January 2026, you don't need to separately apply for a Tax Identification Number once you've registered with CAC. The old Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was renamed the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) in the same reform. Your CAC number — the RC number for a limited company, or the BN number for a business name — is linked to your Tax ID automatically: enter it at the Nigerian Tax ID portal (taxid.nrs.gov.ng) and retrieve the number. If your business already had a TIN from before 2026, it carries over; you don't need to redo anything. This matters because some banks still ask new business owners for "proof of TIN" out of habit — your CAC certificate and the retrieved Tax ID are enough. For the fuller picture of what else changed, see our breakdown of Nigeria's new tax laws and how to retrieve your Tax ID using your CAC number or NIN. Once you start paying yourself or staff a salary, run the numbers through our Nigeria PAYE calculator to see what you owe in tax and pension before it comes out of your account.

How to check your CAC registration status

Once you've paid and submitted, you can check progress and verify a registration yourself:

• Free basic search: go to services.cac.gov.ng and search your business or company name, or your RC/BN number. The CAC's fee schedule confirms basic search results are free to the public.
• Full electronic search: if you need more detail than the free search shows (directors, registered address, filing history), it costs ₦1,000 per entity on the same portal.
• If it's been longer than the published turnaround (24 working hours for a business name or a standard private company) and your status hasn't moved, check your email and the portal dashboard for a query — the CAC often asks for a document correction before it will process further, and the clock resets once you respond.

Should you use an agent instead of filing yourself?

Nothing stops you filing either a business name or a company yourself on the CRP — the forms and fee schedule above are what the CAC charges, full stop. Plenty of accountants, company secretaries and law firms will handle the filing for you for an extra fee on top of the government charges, which is worth it if you don't trust yourself with the paperwork or you're short on time. There's no fixed rate for that service, so get two or three quotes and ask exactly what's included before you pay anything. Whoever you use, ask them to show you the CAC payment receipt for the ₦21,000 or ₦11,750 government portion separately from their own fee, so you know you're not being charged government money that was never paid over.

What to watch out for

• Don't pay "agents" who email you out of the blue claiming your TIN or certificate needs a release fee. The CAC has warned that it doesn't send unsolicited payment requests after registration, and TIN linkage under the new tax rules is automatic and free.
• Don't under-declare your share capital to save ₦750–₦7,500 in stamp duty and then try to raise it with a bank or investor later; increasing share capital after the fact means paying registration and stamp duty fees a second time.
• Don't skip the name search. If CAC rejects your reservation because it's too similar to an existing name, you lose time, not money — the ₦1,000 reservation fee doesn't carry over to a fresh search.
• Keep your certificate and extract safe electronically. You'll need the RC or BN number again for opening a business bank account (which will also ask for your BVN), applying for grants, or registering for taxes.
• Once you hire your fifth staff member, you're legally required to provide health insurance. The NHIA Act 2022 makes this compulsory for employers with 5 or more staff, not optional.

For more on the practical side of running a business day to day, our Nigeria hub rounds up our guides on tax, payments and side income for Nigerian readers.

Frequently asked questions

How much does CAC registration cost in Nigeria in 2026?

A business name costs ₦21,000 in CAC fees (₦1,000 name reservation plus ₦20,000 registration). A private limited company with the minimum ₦100,000 share capital costs ₦11,750 (₦1,000 reservation, ₦10,000 incorporation fee, ₦750 stamp duty). These are the CAC's own gazetted fees as of October 2026, before any agent or professional fee.

Is a business name or limited company cheaper to register?

At the standard ₦100,000 minimum, a limited company is actually the cheaper option: ₦11,750 against ₦21,000 for a business name. That's because the business name's flat ₦20,000 registration fee is double the Ltd's ₦10,000 incorporation charge, and the stamp duty on a ₦100,000 share capital is only ₦750. The business name wins on simplicity instead: no share capital decision, no stamp duty calculation, and no director or shareholder paperwork to file.

How long does CAC registration take?

The CAC's published turnaround is 24 working hours for both a new business name and a new private company, once your documents are complete and free of queries. Name reservation clears in about 4 working hours. Delays almost always come from a document query you haven't responded to yet, not from the CAC's own processing time.

Do I still need to apply for a TIN after registering with CAC?

No. Since 1 January 2026, your CAC registration number doubles as your Tax ID under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act — you retrieve it at the Nigerian Tax ID portal rather than applying from scratch. You don't need a separate TIN application, and anyone asking you to pay for one after registration is not acting for the CAC or the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS, formerly FIRS). Once you have that Tax ID, you'll use it to set up your company's account on NRS's Rev360 portal for filing returns and paying tax going forward.

Can I register a limited company with less than ₦100,000 share capital?

No. CAMA 2020 sets ₦100,000 as the minimum issued share capital for a private limited company in Nigeria. A public company needs at least ₦2,000,000. There's no minimum share capital for a business name, since it has none.

How do I check if my CAC registration has gone through?

Search your business or company name, or your RC/BN number, on the CAC's portal at services.cac.gov.ng. Basic results are free; a full electronic search costs ₦1,000. If nothing shows up after the published turnaround time, check your registered email for a query from the CAC before assuming something's wrong.